Profile: After the combination of Marwin Gonzalez and Ronny Cedeno predictably failed to work out, the Astros called up Villar to take over the starting shortstop job in late July. The 22-year-old had displayed excellent speed, a respectable walk rate and some decent pop throughout his minor league career. Unfortunately, making contact was a real issue as his strikeout rate typically hovered in the mid-25% range. Those contact problems followed him to Houston, and he batted just .243 despite an inflated .362 batting average on balls in play. He didn't swing and miss at an overly high rate, but he may have been a bit too passive by swinging much less frequently than the average hitter. He's set to open the season as the Astros' starting shortstop and has enough speed and power to consider at the end of your mixed league draft, even with a batting average likely to disappoint. (Mike Podhorzer)

The Quick Opinion: Though he strikes out much too frequently, Villar is likely to open the season as the Astros' starting shortstop. He brings excellent speed and even a bit of pop, so despite the potentially weak batting average, could still help fantasy teams in several categories.

Profile: Jonathan Villar, 23, is one of those "tease players" that looks really good for five or six games but, over the course of a two month or more stretch, who cannot put it all together. After frustrating Astros management for parts of two seasons, he may have lost his opportunity now that the organization has committed to veteran Jed Lowrie -- at least until stud prospect Carlos Correa is ready. Should the unexpected/expected happen (such as an injury to the veteran infielder) Villar may once again receive some regular at-bats, but he's going to have to learn to make consistent contact and get on base more regularly. He has some speed (17 steals in 21 attempts last year) and can occasionally step into a ball and give it a ride. More than likely, though, it will be up to a trade for Villar to receive another shot at regular playing time... which means he's going to enter 2015 as a non-entity as far as fantasy baseball is concerned. (Marc Hulet)

The Quick Opinion: The signing of Jed Lowrie likely seals Villar's fate in Houston and he should open the 2015 season in the minors. He'll have to await an injury or trade to receive another shot at playing shortstop regularly -- especially for the Astros, a club that has star shortstop prospect Carlos Correa perhaps less than a year away from making his big league debut.

Profile: Villar showed some progress in 2015. He experienced a substantial jump in his contact rate, allowing his speed to play more, and actually ended the season as an above-average hitter. Granted, that's a small sample with an unsustainable batting average on balls in play, but Villar is still young, hints at having some pop hidden in his bat, and has great speed and good stolen base ability. He was granted playing time by playing for an awful, rebuilding Astros club in 2013-14, and now he'll be granted more playing time by playing for an awful, rebuilding Brewers club in 2016. Villar's future is probably closer to being a utility man than an everyday middle infielder, but last year's progress combined with some of his raw tools make for an intriguing package, albeit one with more real life value than fantasy value. (August Fagerstrom)

The Quick Opinion: Villar saw a big boost in contact rate last year, resulting in an overall production boost, and will head to Milwaukee where he should see at least somewhat regular playing time on a rebuilding ballclub. That said, Villar's ceiling isn't much more than a potential cheap source of steals, if he gets the playing time.

Profile: Villar spend the first three years of his major league career as a part-time player for Houston, flashing bits of power and decent speed to go with a modest .653 OPS. The infielder completely changed his profile in his first season with Milwaukee, however. Villar exploded with a .285/.369/.457 line across 156 games in 2016, racking up 19 homers while pacing all of baseball with 62 stolen bases. The Dominican also led baseball by being caught 18 times on the basepaths, but considering how much the Brewers liked to run (their 181 total steals shattered the Reds’ 139 at No. 2), it is unlikely he is going to be slowed down any time soon. Villar strikes out plenty -- his 26% strikeout rate was close to his career norm -- but he bumped his walk rate all the way up to a solid 12%. Those worried about regression may point to Villar’s .373 batting average on balls in play, although he posted a .360 mark in ‘15 and a .362 BABIP in ‘13. The switch-hitter was especially productive against southpaws last year (.930 OPS), and considering he won’t turn 26 until May, he could certainly be a strong table-setter at the top of the Milwaukee lineup again. (Dylan Higgins)

The Quick Opinion: A change of scenery and a full-time opportunity saw Villar turn himself into one of the premier leadoff men in fantasy. With a solid average, double-digit pop, and the ability to lead baseball in steals again, the infielder has turned himself into an elite option -- especially considering he is likely to qualify at multiple positions.